In this weeks episode of the StrictlyVC Download podcast, veteran VC Aileen Lee was direct about a major consequence of the recent boom-and-bust cycle: many companies stuck in limbo arent just struggling to regain their footing after raising too much money at unsustainable valuations; theyve also lost the champions who once backed them.Lee was discussing how limited partners hesitate to criticize powerful fund managers, fearing theyll be shut out from investing in those firms again. But she imagined one thing theyd say if they could speak freely:Everybody wants to get into X brand name fund, and so they never will criticize them [for fear of repercussions] . . .they probably talk about us behind our backs [laughs].. . .But what they would say is [that] all the people who have [were] hired at these venture firms during the ZIRP era . . . they made a bunch of crappy investments and now they are being elbowed out except that its too late, observed Lee. All [the LPs] money basically just got thrown down the drain because the people in the venture jobs didnt stick around long enough to see if the companies were successful.Its not the fault of these newer investors, Lee continued. Just a ton of people didnt get trained and didnt get any mentorship or apprenticeship were given checkbooks, and a lot of investments were made, and . . .there are a lot of orphaned companies, as a result. But theres another reason startups are being left to their own devices and I find this crazy, said Lee; in many cases, companies have been orphaned by a more senior general partner who led the investment who is still there [at the firm] but just stopped showing up to the board meetings.For certain companies, its been happening for years at this point. No one did as much due diligence during the go-go Covid era of funding, and the corner cutting never quite stopped when it came to these same investments. But its also a key reason a growing number of companies are struggling to find outside help with exit strategies, and why LPs would be justified in voicing more frustration.As another longtime VC, Jason Lemkin, told this editor in late 2022 when VCs first stopped showing up at the board meetings of startups that were losing momentum: [S]houldnt there be checks and balances? Millions and millions are invested by pension funds and universities and widows and orphans, and when you dont do any diligence on the way in, and you dont do continual diligence at a board meeting, youre kind of abrogating some of your fiduciary responsibilities to your LPs, right?Check out StrictlyVC Download weekly; new episodes come out every Tuesday.